The Messenger by TM Smith
The Archangel trilogy book 1
Tentative release date August 31st 2018
For centuries Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer have worked together, coexisting in the same universe. Gabriel chooses to remain silent and secluded, preferring the garden in the Hall of Souls. He dances beneath the Tree of Life, barefoot and with reckless abandon…until the day he looks into the eyes of another angel and sees the dreams he’s kept silent mirrored there.
Eons have passed since the moment Michael came to be the general of the All Father’s army in heaven, the protector of mankind. Michael has been in love with Lucifer for as long as he can remember, their relationship second only to his bond with the All Father. But lately, Michael has begun to notice cracks in the surface of their love, sensing that his lover is not as angelic as he seems.
Lucifer was the All Father’s first creation, the bringer of light, his Morning Star. He has sat to the right of the throne every day since the dawn of time. Two things were tasked to the Archangels from the start: put no other before the All Father, and protect the humans he cherishes. Lucifer challenges both sacred rules. He puts his love for Michael before his love for his creator, and he questions his creator’s wisdom when it comes to the atrocities he has seen committed by mankind.
One will fall while two remain and grow stronger. A battle of wills is on the horizon, and not only mankind, but the fate of all beings will hang in the balance.
Excerpt...
NOTE: this is an excerpt from a book that is still in the writing process and has yet to be edited.
Prologue…
“Lu, please, don’t do this.” Michael begged. Collapsing to his knees, he reached for Lucifer’s face, only to have his hand knocked away. The look of love and tenderness he’d once seen in the darker Angels silver eyes was gone, replaced with anger and hatred, the normally shining orbs bleeding into a dull gray with pulsing coal black slits.
“You made your choice Michael.” Lucifer hissed, venom wrapped around each word he growled between clenched teeth.
Standing, the pissed off Angel shoved Michael aside, advancing on Gabriel. “You did this!” Lucifer let his wings unfurl and the All Father gasped. An Angels wings were liken to their limbs, an extension of their soul as much as bones and skin. Lucifer’s normally black and silver marbled feathers loomed over him, awash in a darkness that resembled brimstone and ash, the tips a dull, lifeless gray that matched his now dead, slitted eyes.
In a blur of movement that none of them expected, the dark Angel flew into the air, spinning and knocking Gabriel off his feet with the suddenly massive appendages jutting out of his shoulder blades. “I will destroy you Messenger. Much like you’ve done to the love he once felt for me, only for me!”
“Enough!” The All Father’s voice boomed, the heavens shaking, a brilliant white light momentarily blinding all his Angels. Blinking, Gabriel stood and moved over to where Michael sat crouched, staring up at Lucifer, confusion and pain dotting his vibrant blue eyes. “Angel of light, my son and most trusted advisor, I beg you to stop this madness. You know what the consequence will be.”
Lucifer glared at the All Father, chest heaving, breathing labored, senselessly fighting against the band of light wrapped around his middle like the sheath of a knife. “Father, please don’t…” God raised his hand silencing Michael.
“I am sorry, Michael, but he has made his choice which leaves me no alternative.” The band around Lucifer tightened, the floor beneath him opening up, exposing clouds of thunder and rain. “Star of the Morning, bringer of light, you are stripped of your titles, your wings forfeit. You shall now be known as Satan, the serpent, the prince of darkness.” Lucifer howled in agony as the strong coal-black feathers were stripped away from his being. “I cast you out of heaven and forbade your return.” The iridescent tears cascading down the All Father’s cheeks formed a river beneath the writhing Angel.
Michael cried out, turning and burying his face in Gabriel’s bronze robe, the silky fabric soon soaked through with fresh, warm tears. He wrapped his arms around Michael, shielding him from Lucifer’s violent, turbulent eyes. In the eons to come, the slow passage of time he and Michael would face together, Gabriel would always question his role in the events of that day. Could it have been avoided? Of course it could have, but that would have meant walking away from the Angel that he loved second only to the All Father.
He asked himself for the millionth time as he held Michael’s head so he wouldn’t see the clouds open up and swallow Lucifer, dragging him down to bowels of the earth, face a mask of agony and pain, forever exiled to the pit and doomed to watch over and judge only the evil of mankind… what have I done?
A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; TM Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. A Texas transplant, she now calls DFW her home. Most days she can be found curled up with a good book, or ticking away on her next novel.
Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, she is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights. Because, seriously people, Love is Love!
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